Jakarta

Jakarta has very busy roads.

Now a fast train called the MRT zooms across the city. Some people ride little tricycle taxis near their homes. Big ships come to the city's port.

Traffic jams are a big problem in Jakarta, especially in the morning and evening rush hours. To help, the city opened its first MRT line, a fast metro train, on March 24, 2019, running from Lebak Bulus to the Bundaran HI traffic circle. A second phase, to Kota in the north, is being built, and a light-rail line has run since late 2019.

Buses, minibuses and taxis carry many people, and in some neighborhoods people ride the becak, a tricycle taxi. Trains link Jakarta with the rest of Java, and its port, Tanjung Priok, is the largest in Indonesia.

Britannica describes traffic congestion and pollution as major problems, with jams at morning and afternoon rush hours. To shift people from private vehicles to public transport, the city opened MRT Phase 1 (Lebak Bulus to Bundaran HI) to the public on March 24, 2019, averaging about 94,800 riders a day by July 2019; Phase 2 (Bundaran HI to Kota) is under construction, and LRT Phase 1 (Velodrome to Pegangsaan Dua) has run since late 2019.

Railways run east across Java, south to Bogor and Bandung and west to the ferry port of Merak, for Sumatra. Tanjung Priok, Indonesia's largest port, handles much of the country's imports, many of them transshipped to other islands. The main international airport is about 20 km west at Cengkareng. Buses and minibuses carry most public transport, while the becak, a tricycle taxi, serves only neighborhood trips.

Jakarta is hot and sticky all year.

In the rainy months, lots of rain falls. Because the land is low and flat, the streets can flood.

Jakarta is hot and humid all year round. Temperatures range between about 24 °C and 34 °C, and the air is damp. January highs average about 30 °C and lows about 24 °C. Sea breezes sometimes cool the city a little.

More than 1,700 millimeters of rain fall in a year, most of it from November to February. The city is built on low, flat land that was once swampy, so it floods easily in the rainy season. Draining swamps for building and the loss of forests on higher land have made floods more likely.

Britannica describes a tropical, humid climate with temperatures between about 24 °C and 34 °C, relative humidity of 75 to 85 percent, mean temperatures of 26 °C in January and 28 °C in October, and more than 1,700 mm of rain a year; sea winds often moderate the heat. WMO climate figures for Jakarta (temperatures averaged over 1994–1999, rainfall over 1930–1960) give daily highs and lows of about 29.9 °C and 24.2 °C in January and 33.0 °C and 25.5 °C in September, with January the wettest month at about 385 mm.

The city sits on a low, flat alluvial plain with historically extensive swamps, and it floods easily in the rainy season; draining swamps for building and the loss of upland forest have increased the danger. Even with so much water in the soil, Britannica notes, Jakarta is short of clean drinking water. Jakarta Globe's report on the 2026 court ruling links the planned capital move to congestion, pollution and land subsidence in Jakarta.

Jakarta has many busy markets.

Some sell fish, some sell food, and some sell old and new treasures. Many families live in village-style houses. Others live in apartment buildings.

Many people in Jakarta came from other places and made the city their home. The city runs many markets: big ones in the old Kota area and at Pasar Senen, a food market at Jatinegara, and special markets for fish, car parts, and souvenirs and antiques.

The most common kind of home is the kampong, or village, house, often built of wood or bamboo. Every year the Jakarta Fair, usually held from July to August, shows off goods for trade. The University of Indonesia, founded in 1950, is the city's largest and best-known university.

Britannica calls Jakarta a city of new settlers who adopted local ways and became Jakartans. Kota houses much of the Chinese community; the business hub lies to its south along Sudirman and Thamrin roads; Kemayoran and Senen have become major retail areas; and Tanjung Priok has its own harbor community. The most common housing is the kampong house, built of wood or bamboo matting, alongside colonial-era houses and newer apartments; housing is generally overcrowded, and land and rents are expensive.

The city has more than 100 universities, academies and institutes, led by the University of Indonesia (1950), and more than two dozen major hospitals. Municipal markets range from Pasar Glodok in Kota to the Pasar Rumput flea market and the Jalan Surabaya antique market, and the annual Jakarta Fair promotes trade. Industries include machinery, paper, textiles, food processing, automotive products and a film industry.